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Project ID: 00-1-1-03

Year: 2001

Date Started: 01/05/2001

Date Completed: 09/04/2005

Title: Changing Fire Regimes, Increased Fuel Loads, and Invasive Species: Effects on Sagebrush Steppe and Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems

Project Proposal Abstract: Pinyon juniper woodlands and Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems have undergone major changes in vegetation structure and composition since settlement by European Americans. These changes are resulting in dramatic shifts in fire frequency, size and severity. Effective management of these systems has been hindered by lack of information on: (1) presettlement fire regimes and the spatial and temporal changes that have occurred in Jntermountain Region woodlands and sagebrush steppe ecosystems, (2) changing fuel loads and the consequences for the ecosystem types and conditions that currently exist on the landscape, and (3) the environmental and ecological factors that influence community susceptibilty to invasive species. We propose to conduct an integrated research program that addresses each of these information needs. The first component will evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of the shrublands and woodlands prior to settlement by using a combination of plant community, stand structure, and dendrochronology data. It also examines the influence of varying environmental conditions and invasive species on current shrubland and woodland dynamics. The second component is closely aligned with the first. It evaluates the changes that have occurred in fuel loads since settlement and provides a comparison of the fuel loading characteristics for ecosystems that are functional, at risk, or that have been converted to annual grasses or secondary weeds, or revegetated. The third component uses mechanistic studies to examine key factors influencing community susceptibility to invasion by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and the secondary weeds, squarrose knapweed (Centaurea virgata var. squarrosa) and Rush skeleton weed (Chondrillajuncea). It examines temporal differences in resource availability (soil water and nutrients) among vegetation types and states. It also evaluates the effects of plant abundance of existing species and fire on soil resource availability and cheatgrass establishment and reproduction, and the effects of fire on secondary weed establishment and spread. This research will provide both regional and local information on characteristics of woodlands and shrublands at greatest risk of catastrophic fire, most susceptible to cheatgrass invasion, as well as most suitable for prescribed fire. It will also provide information on the effects of resource availability, community condition, and fire on community susceptibility to cheatgrass and secondary weed invasion

Principal Investigator: Jeanne C. Chambers

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Reno

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Robert R. Blank	ARS-Agricultural Research Service	Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit
Co-Principal Investigator	Stephen C. Bunting	University of Idaho	Rangeland Ecology & Management
Co-Principal Investigator	James P. Dobrowolski	Utah State University	Department of Wildland Resources
Co-Principal Investigator	Pat Fosse	BLM-Bureau of Land Management	Fillmore Field Office
Co-Principal Investigator	E. Durant McArthur	Forest Service	RMRS-Shrub Sciences Laboratory
Co-Principal Investigator	Susan E. Meyer	Forest Service	RMRS-Shrub Sciences Laboratory
Co-Principal Investigator	Richard R. Miller	Oregon State University	Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center
Co-Principal Investigator	Steve B. Monsen	Uncompahgre Plateau Native Seed Project
Co-Principal Investigator	Mike L. Pellant	BLM-Bureau of Land Management	Idaho State Office
Co-Principal Investigator	Bruce A. Roundy	Brigham Young University	Department of Plant & Wildlife Sciences
Co-Principal Investigator	Nancy L. Shaw	Forest Service	RMRS-Aquatic Sciences Lab
Co-Principal Investigator	Robin J. Tausch	Forest Service	RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Reno
Co-Principal Investigator	Scott C. Walker	Utah	Great Basin Research Center
Federal Cooperator	Jeanne C. Chambers	Forest Service	RMRS-Forestry Sciences Lab-Reno

Project Locations

Consortium

Great Basin

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	3855	Refereed Publication	A Technique for Conducting Small-Plot Burn Treatments
	6255	Refereed Publication	What Makes Great Basin Sagebrush Ecosystems Invasible by Bromus tectorum?
	3854	MS Thesis	The Influence of Environmental Attributes on Temporal and Structural Dynamics of Western Juniper Woodland Development and Associated Fuel Loading Characteristics (D. Johnson)
	3853	MS Thesis	Western Juniper Succession: Changing Fuels and Fire Behavior (C. Yanish)

Supporting Documents

The following supporting documents are available for this project.

Brief

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